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HRH St Joseph, Prince of Judah
HRH St Joseph (Yosef), Prince of Judah, Curator Emeritus of the Throne of David and Patron of the Universal Church
"So Joseph set out from the town of Nazareth in Galilee for Judah, to David's town called Bethlehem, since he was of David's House and line, in order to be registered together with Mary his betrothed, who was with child. Now it happened that, while they were there, the time came for her to have her child, and she gave birth to a son, her first-born. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger because there was no room for them in the living-space." (Luke 2:4-7).
ENCYCLICAL LETTER OF POPE LEO XII
Rerum Novarum
On the Condition of the Working Classes, 1891
ENCYCLICAL LETTER OF POPE JOHN PAUL II
Laborem Exercens
On Human Work, 1981
None of the monarchies reigning today can trace their lineage to anywhere near the time when the Holy Family lived on earth; those which then reigned are no more. Even the founder of the most ancient line of the Japanese Emperors lived as many as five centuries after Christ. As the scion of the most illustrious of Sovereign Houses, St Joseph is richly entitled to the qualification of Royal Highness, for he is a descendant of King David and therefore a Prince of Judah. Moreover, he is entitled to retain this dignity in beatitude, since his Divine Son and King is also Lord of the world to come.
There is not in the whole world a more splendid genealogy than that of St Joseph: it is through him that the King of Kings is a King among Kings - a King for Kings, since He is like them in having a royal ancestry and temporal nobility as they do. Joseph truly gave to Jesus everything which a father gives his child, and everything which the Head of a Royal House gives his heir, with the sole exception of biological generation. St Thomas Aquinas tells us that God gave Joseph a miraculous moral bond with Jesus, so that he would love Him as fully and perfectly as though He were his own true flesh and blood.
Joseph is venerated in the Church as the Patron of Workers and of the Universal Church and as the Guardian of the Holy Family. It was his vocation as the husband of Mary and the legal father of Jesus to provide for and protect them both. Joseph was the Guardian not only of the Person of Jesus but also of His royal inheritance, for - like all the successors of Zedekiah the last King of Judah - he was the Curator of the Throne until the time came for him to abdicate in favour of the One for whom it was destined.
Jewish law presumes that a man is the natural father of every child to whom his wife gives birth, unless either his paternity is judicially disproved by admissible evidence to the contrary, or he denies paternity by a simple declaration. He is legally barred from doing so as soon as he has acted as a father to the child, as Joseph did when he gave Jesus His name.
The Jewish law of royal succession provides that the Throne shall pass from father to son in order of primogeniture, though a King can name any male he pleases as his successor, as long as he is Jewish and of the House of David. The King can freely abdicate at any time. Since we read in the Gospels that Joseph was a just man, we can be certain that he surrendered his ancient title to his new-born Son, who is acclaimed even from His birth as the King of the Jews. (Matthew 1:19, 2:2).
The same law also prescribes that a man stands to inherit from his own son as long as the son is childless. Since Our Lord never fathered children, St Joseph held by this law the dignity of the first Crown Prince of Judah, Israel and All the Holy Land in the reign of Christ the King on the Throne of David.
In the early sixteenth century the pious Dominican Isidore Isolano prophesied that "the sound of victory" will be heard in the Church Militant "when the faithful recognise the sanctity of St Joseph. The Lord will let His light shine, He will lift the veil, and great men will search out the interior gifts of God that are hidden in St Joseph; they will find in him a priceless treasure, the like of which they had never found in other saints of the Old Testament. We are inclined to believe that toward the end of time God will overwhelm St Joseph with glorious honours. . . At some future time the Feast of St Joseph will be celebrated as one of the greatest of feasts. The Vicar of Christ, inspired by the Holy Spirit, will order this Feast to be celebrated in the Universal Church."
PRAYER TO ST JOSEPH
O great and good St Joseph, chaste spouse of Immaculate Mary, and guardian of the Word Incarnate, we place ourselves with confidence under thy protection, and beg of thee to teach us to practise the virtues of the Child Jesus. We thank God for the singular favours He was pleased to bestow upon thee, and we earnestly desire to become pure, and humble, and patient, like unto thee. Pray, then, for us, St Joseph, and through that love which thou hast for Jesus and Mary, and which they have for thee, obtain for us the invaluable blessing of living and dying in the love of Jesus, Mary, and thee. Amen.
Holy Joseph, patron of a happy death, pray for us.
PRAYER AFTER THE ROSARY
To thee, O Blessed Joseph, we have recourse in our tribulation,
And, having invoked the Help of thy Holy Spouse,
We confidently invoke thy Patronage also.
By the love which united thee to the Immaculate Virgin Mother of God,
And by the fatherly affection with which thou didst embrace the Infant Jesus,
We beseech thee graciously to regard the Inheritance,
Which Jesus Christ purchased with His Precious Blood,
And to support us in our necessities by thy Powerful Intercession.
Protect, O most provident Guardian of the Holy Family,
The Chosen Offspring of Jesus Christ;
Ward off from us, O most loving Father, all taint of error and corruption;
Graciously assist us from on High, O most Powerful Protector,
In our struggle with the powers of darkness;
And, as thou didst once rescue the Child Jesus from imminent peril to His life,
So now defend the Holy Church of God from the snares of Her enemies and from all adversity.
Shield each one of us with thy unceasing Patronage, that imitating thy example
And supported by thy aid, we may lead a good life, die a holy death,
And obtain Everlasting Happiness in Heaven. Amen.
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